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Abstract

As in Australia school education is the responsibility of State Governments, this article will consider two computer systems in the Australian State of Victoria. The article takes a socio-technical stance to examine two computer systems currently in use in schools in Victoria: CASES21 and the Ultranet. After describing these systems, the article makes use of actor-network theory to explore the actors involved in their creation, development, implementation and use (or in one case non-use), and the networks they established in doing so. It looks at the associations involving both the human and non-human actors and how these contributed to successful adoption and use of these systems. A comparison of two systems within the same organisational environment allows a unique perspective on the formation of networks. The ANT approach permits an understanding of the difference in adoption where very few factors differ between the cases.

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Two Computer Systems Used In Schools In Victoria

This study aimed to examine two of the computer systems in use in Victorian schools: CASES21 and the Ultranet. The goal was to investigate the socio-technical aspects of these systems and how these contribute to school community involvement, and the difference in both the nature of the translations and the networks formed during the implementations.